As I slowly add parts to automate my home, I’m always interested in the gadgets that are being released to make life easier or… just cooler.  The WemMo Dimmer is one of those devices that just makes sense. 

The dimmer arrived in, okay, I’m man enough to admit, sexy packaging. Outside, the box is your run-of-the-mill cardboard color with some white graphics showing the WeMo logo, a line drawing of the dimmer, and a diagram of “suggested†dimmer settings with such settings as “3 am  bathroom run.†  It made me smile. Inside, the box is an almost shocking shade of green. A green that could wake up a sleepy Gadgeteer! Lots more with graphics adorn the tri-fold enclosure.  Opening the package reveals the elegantly designed dimmer switch and a slot marked “get set.â€

Wemo’s “Let’s go†manual is a comprehensive instruction manual for installing the dimmer. Graphics and text are easy to understand, waking an installer, even a novice, through the sometimes frightening aspects of home wiring this installation requires. The kit even includes the wire nuts and labels to make sure (no pun intended) wired don’t get crossed.

I had no trouble identifying the wiring and what needed to be done to replace a hallway ceiling lamp switch, probably the most often used switch in my home. Turning off the circuit breaker, I removed the old-style switch and wired the WeMo. One note of caution: the Wemo Dimmer is considerably more bulky that the switch it’s replacing. If there are additional wires in the back of your electrical switch box, you might have a challenge fitting everything back in. Tucking the wires back as far as they will go helps. Make sure you don’t pop the wire nuts off when you do this or you will likely get a surprise when you turn the breaker back on. Of course, if you’re uncomfortable doing this wiring yourself, ask a handy friend or hire a professional. Above all, please be careful.

Once the switch was in and the juice turned back on, the Dimmer flashes some funky disco lights and settles into a flashing blue. I downloaded the app and followed the instructions from the manual. Similar to many typical smart devices, my phone connected to the Wemo Dimmer’s Wi-Fi and walked me through setting my bulb type, pairing with Alexa and connecting to my home network. At no point did I feel lost and the entire process progressed very smoothly.

Now the fun part… Now that the dimmer was paired with Alexa, I could issue voice commands to turn on, off or even set a brightness percentage. Pretty slick! I fiddled around with the app and found I could access any lamp function I desired on my home network and through cellular 4G with very little lag. I even connected through a VPN in Thailand and found the same, fast, results.

Moving on, I was able to set timers, set the app to turn off the light after a specific time, and put the dimmer into “Away†mode to randomize turning the light on and off for home security. The app also connects to IFTTT, but I have yet to see what goodies I can find. It seems Wemo really thought things out. Well done.

So far, I am thrilled with the ease of use, functionality, and reliability of the Wemo Wi-Fi Smart Dimmer Light Switch. Given the opportunity, I would gladly replace every switch I have with them.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Wemo. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Home Automation, Lighting

Wemo Wi-Fi Smart Dimmer Light Switch review originally appeared on on July 5, 2017 at 8:46 am.

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I’m in the process of slowly automating my home, so when the opportunity to review the Koogeek SK1 Smart Socket, I jumped at the opportunity. I anticipated turning light on and off from afar, and dimming them to suit a particular mood… I get ahead of myself. 

The Koogeek socket arrived in a sturdy box, nestled in a form-fitting plastic tray and a tiny 3” X 3” instruction card. The socket itself is very basic, about 3 inches in diameter, a standard bulb socket on one end, and the flange that goes into the lamp’s socket on the other. There is a single pushbutton on the socket to perform all of its functions, including turning the lamp on and off without using the app.

Screwing the lamp into a lamp socket revealed the first hurdle in my plan to electronically dominate my home: With the Koogeek socket installed, the bulb is raised about 1.5 inches from the existing socket. I found that in the lamp I had chosen for use, the bulb was raised enough to contact the loop that holds the lampshade. I found a slightly smaller profile bulb that fit, but it’s still tight. On lamps that have more space above the bulb, this would not be an issue.

I downloaded their app, created a user account and went through the pairing process. It was refreshingly simple. Screw in the bulb, screw the socket into the lamp, turn the lamp on and hold the solitary pushbutton until it flashes. Open the app, click the “+”, and type in the number of the device conveniently located on the socket and that form-fitting plastic tray it arrived in. Nice touch. I can imagine if this device were placed in a difficult to reach location, it might be tedious to get the number from the socket itself.

Voila! I’m in business. The whole process taking no more than a minute. The app reliably turned the bulb on and off from any location in my home. I moved on to creating scenes – essentially macros for automating multiple Koogeek device actions into a single button. For example, I used the “Good Night” scene to turn the light off. If I possessed additional Koogeek products, it would have been simple to string my desired instructions into a Scene and execute with a touch of a button.

I searched everywhere in the app for a method to dim the lamp only to find, there is none. Nope, my dreams of dimming the lights before movie time were gone. Bummer. Also non-existent was the ability to put the socket on a timer – The app page is blank. Another bummer. What they do have is a nifty “details” page showing the lamps power consumption and historical usage.

Koogeek’s app is compatible with Apple’s ”Home” app, inviting me to further integration fun. After going through the process of adding the socket to the app, I found the functionality to be virtually identical – on, off, and scenes. That’s it. The device is touted to have Alexa connectivity, but this is limited to Koogeek’s P2 socket at this time.

Next, I attempted to control the socket when disconnected from my home network (on a 4G cellular network), only to find Koogeek requires integration through Apple TV, which unfortunately I do not own, so I was not able to test remote functionality.

I found the Koogeek SK1 socket useful, but only for the most basic functions and only while in my home. The socket is sturdy and reliable but lacks many of the functions of its competitors such as dimming, timers and the ability to control away from the home network. I’m hopeful that as Koogeek’s products evolve, more functionality will be added.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Koogeek. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Home Automation, Lighting

Koogeek SK1Smart Socket review originally appeared on on June 30, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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